“Only the crimes tied us together.”
Translated from the film's Official Press Kit
Note: This interview contains minor spoilers.
You decided to make "The Thief Family" after hearing something about illegally receiving pensions for the deceased. Did you originally want to shoot this family from a different perspective than your previous works?
It's Hirokazu-eda: The first thing I thought of was the slogan, "Only crime connects us." Crimes like cheating pensions and parents instigating children to steal are severely condemned in Japan, and of course they deserve to be condemned, but I often wonder why people are so outraged at these petty offenses, even if they are There are also many criminals who have committed more serious crimes without being punished. Especially after the 2011 earthquake, I don't really agree that people always emphasize the importance of family bonds, so I want to explore this point by filming this family connected by crime.
This bond is the center of the film, and other themes revolve around it, can you talk about that?
It's Hirokazu-eda: After deciding on the casting, I started to think about the themes that haven't been explored yet or are worth looking into. This film contains a lot of themes that I've been thinking about and exploring over the past ten years. The film is about the meaning of family. The story, about a man who wants to be a father, is likewise the story of a boy growing up.
The poor family in the film reminds us of "Nobody Knows", can you talk about the similarities between the two films?
It's Hirokazu-eda: "The Thief Family" and "Nobody Knows" feel similar, probably because they're both about the kind of "punished" homes that people often see in the news. I didn't mean to To photograph a poor family, or the lower classes of society. I would prefer to see them finally meet in that collapsed house. I hope to show such a family from another angle.
This scene of the family being separated is really heartbreaking, to be so blunt about your anger at social injustice, which is not often seen in your recent work, can you talk about that?
It's Hirokazu-eda: Yes, maybe not after "Nobody Knows", "anger" was probably the main emotion I was carrying while making this film. Since the beginning of "Walking On", I have tried desperately to dig deeper and locked myself in the theme of human nature. After filming "Deeper than the Sea", I decided not to limit my perspective to this. It is the Yingwangyan society, it can be said that I have returned to the place where I started.
Can you talk about why you wanted to collaborate with photographer Ryuto Kondo ("Yoyosuke Yokomichi") and composer Haruoomi Hosono ("Cuckoo is a Cat")?
Hirokazu-eda: I've always wanted to work with Mr. Kondo, who I think is the best cameraman in Japanese cinema right now. He has that "director" perspective, with great insights into the story and the characters, which also allows me to balance my energy so that I can focus on directing the actors and not worry about photography. Before shooting, I would imagine the film as a kind of allegory, to find and construct the poetry in reality, even if the film is realistic, I still hope to depict the poetry of human beings, and the photography and the soundtrack fit my ideas. As for the soundtrack, I have always loved Mr. Hosono's film scores and would love to have the opportunity to work with him, whose music captures the dreamy side of the film's story.
You decided to make this film after learning about incidents of families illegally receiving the pensions of parents who had already died years ago. Was your intention to depict a family from a different angle compared to your previous films?
The first thing that came to my mind was the tagline: “Only the crimes tied us together”. In Japan, crimes like pension frauds and parents making their children shoplift are criticized severely. Of course, these criminals should be criticized but I am wondering why people get so angry over such minor infractions even though there are many lawbreakers out there committing far more serious crimes without condemnation. Especially after the 2011 earthquakes, I didn't feel comfortable with people saying repeatedly that a family bond is important. So I wanted to explore it by depicting a family linked by crime.
The theme of this bond is central and other elements are added to it. Can you comment on this?
I started to think about which elements were unfolded and would be examined deeply after the casting was settled. As a result, this film is packed with the various elements I have been thinking about and exploring these last 10 years. It is the story of what family means, a story about a man trying to be a father, and furthermore, a coming-of-age story of a boy.
The impoverished family in the film reminds us of Nobody Knows. What can you say about the similarity between that film and Shoplifters?
Shoplifters might be similar to Nobody Knows in the sense that this film also explores closely the sort of “punished” families we regularly see in news reports. It wasn't my intention simply to describe a poor family, or the lower levels of the social strata. I rather think that the family in the film ended up gathering in that house not to collapse there. I wanted to shine a light on such a family from a different angle.
The later scenes showing the family being split up are heartbreaking. We haven't seen such anger at social injustice shown so nakedly in your recent films. Can you comment on that?
It's true, maybe not since Nobody Knows. The core emotion when I was making this film might have been "anger". Since Still Walking, I have dug desperately deeper and more narrowly into the motif of personal things and after finishing After The Storm, I put the end to this approach of not broadening my vision to society, of minimizing as much as possible. It could be said that I have gone back to where I started.
Can you tell us why you decided to work with Kondo Ryuto (DP) and composer Hosono Haruomi?
I have always wanted to work with Mr. Kondo as I think he is one of the finest cinematographers currently working in the Japanese movie industry. He has very much a “director's” point of view, with a deep interpretation of story and character. So it was a good balance that allowed me to focus on directing the actors without having to worry about the cinematography. Before the shoot, I was thinking of this film was kind of a fable and sought ways to find and build poetry within reality. Even if the film was realistic, I wanted to describe the poetry of human beings and both the cinematography and music came close to my vision. As for the music, I have been a fan of Mr. Hosono's film scores in his previous works so I have always looked for an opportunity to work with him. In this film, his music captures the fantasy side of the story.
Sources: Official Press Kit
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